This invention relates generally to cable television taps, and more specifically to taps with ports having programmable statuses.
Cable television (CATV) systems typically include headend equipment that receives satellite signals and demodulates the signals to baseband. The baseband signal is then converted to an optical signal for transmission from the headend equipment to subscriber equipment owned by subscribers of CATV services. Taps are situated along the CATV distribution system to split the signals off to the subscriber equipment.
Cable taps usually include a single incoming port for receiving a radio frequency (RF) signal and a number of outgoing ports for splitting off portions of the RF signal. The outgoing ports can be enabled and disabled remotely or locally, such as when a service person physically couples a coaxial cable from a previously inactive port to a home, thereby activating the port. When remote activation is used, inactive ports can already be physically connected to homes or offices that do not currently subscribe. When an inactive port is to later be activated, a programming signal can be transmitted to the tap instructing the tap to enable a particular port, such as by providing an electrical connection to the selected port via a switch.
However, tap functions, such as port status, can be inadvertently changed by environmental factors. For instance, a nearby lightning strike, a hard blow, or loss of power can sometimes cause an enabled tap port to become disabled, and vice versa. In conventional cable television systems, this cannot be corrected until a subscriber calls in to report that he is not receiving cable service or until a cable service technician notices that a non-subscriber is receiving cable service, in which case the port is reprogrammed by transmitting a new programming signal or sending out a technician for tap adjustment.
Thus, what is needed is a better way to correct inadvertent status changes for outgoing ports of a cable television tap device.